Worry
by Blue Bananana
Summary: Ryan and Esposito make great partners for one reason: They worry about each other. One-shots based off of Ryan and Esposito in danger on the show. Slash only if you squint. Salt&Peppa forever! T for violence.  No more than the show has
1. Den of Theives

**A.N. This is the Newly edited version of this chapter. I hope to have some new chapters up soon and some new edited up chapters up soon as well. As always, please give me feedback and thank you for reading!  
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><p>Worry-Prologue<p>

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.

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><p>Den of Thieves<p>

Holliwell tried to run. He turned to run when he saw those guns pointed at him. But Ryan was there, gun ready to fire if Holliwell attempted to move. Beckett and Demming were dealing with Holliwell, but Ryan's mind hadn't stopped swimming since he saw the blood. Esposito would never have shot Holliwell unless he knew he was the dirty cop. But Esposito never would have let him leave unless…

"Where's Esposito?" Ryan asked, panic evident in his voice. Unless Esposito was dead or dying, was the answer to Ryan's unfinished thought. When Holliwell hesitated for one moment too long Ryan snapped. He grabbed Holliwell's coat and pulled him so they were face to face.

"WHERE'S ESPOSITO!" Ryan's eyes blazed a blue fire, burning brighter and fiercer than anyone there had ever seen. Holliwell told him Racine's office and Ryan went running up the steps, taking them three at a time. Castle was behind him. Ryan started to call out.

"Esposito! Esposito!" Unthinkable visions cluttered up his mind. Esposito, lying dead. Esposito, shot, dying. It made Ryan run that much faster. When he reached the right floor, Ryan continued to call out as he sprinted to Racine's office. He ran in to see Esposito hunched over Ike Ryan had already whipped out his radio to call for an ambulance. In a way, Ryan was scared that Ike would die or be crippled. He didn't want Esposito to have that on his conscience, not when they had just reunited. But mostly, it was relief running through Ryan's veins when he saw Ike on the ground, not Esposito. He understood why Esposito had been so upset when Ike had faked his own death. Ryan didn't even want to think about losing his brother. The Ambulance arrived, taking Ike away. Esposito had insisted on riding in the back. Ryan was behind them in his car. Once they reached the hospital, Ike was whisked off to surgery. Esposito sat on the cold hard hospital chairs, staring at the speckled tiles on the clean floor.

"Hey." Ryan said softly, approaching Esposito's tired form. He didn't respond. "Are you OK?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"He's alive. And he's going to be okay."

"I know." Esposito responded. Ryan's face took on more concern.

"Then why do you look like you just killed a puppy?"

"It's my fault." Esposito said. Ryan immediately started to shake his head, but before he could speak, Esposito started.

"No, don't try and deny it. I should have moved faster or knocked Ike down."

Ryan sighed.

"If you could have done either of those things, you would have." Ryan replied.

"I should have been the one shot." Esposito said quietly. Ryan's face grew horror striken.

"No. You should not have. If you would have taken the hit, you would have died. Remember losing Ike? Don't do that to me, bro." Ryan said with fervor. When Esposito didn't respond, Ryan took his shoulders and turned them face to face. "Look at me. Javier, look at me. You did the right thing. You should not have taken that bullet. Ike is going to be fine. The only thing you screwed up was not letting me come with you." Ryan stared at Esposito. The last sentence got a reaction.

"What, and let you take that bullet? No. I already almost lost one partner to Holliwell, I wasn't going to lose another." Esposito snapped. Ryan's eyes grew wide. He pulled back. "I know you wanted to come, bro, but I didn't want you to get hurt because of my skeletons." Esposito continued. Ryan was still staring at him in shock. Without blinking, he replied.

"It's okay."

"And besides. I did need you as back up, so thanks." Esposito continued. Ryan nodded, then turned to stare at the floor.

"Esposito?"

"Yeah?"

"If you ever, ever, even think about doing something as stupid as that ever again, I will hunt you down. Got it?" Ryan threatened, still staring at the floor.

"Got it." Esposito replied. The two of them waited. Eventually, Ike was okay, and they arrested Racine. Ike wasn't coming back to the force, but he was going to be back in Esposito's life. Ryan was glad for that. Esposito was a little less haunted.


	2. 3XK

**A.N. New and improved Version. Thank you so much to my Beta, AgentFraniJones.**

Worry-Prologue

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.

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><p>3XK<p>

Everybody makes decisions that they regret. Letting their guard down, thinking everything would be just fine, when the truth was the opposite. For most people, that isn't a matter of life or death. It doesn't make their blood go cold from fear then boil with rage in a matter of seconds because their apathy might just cause the death of the closest thing to a brother they've ever had. Esposito hadn't even reached the subway station before Beckett called, frantic. She explained about how Jerry was the Triple Killer, and Esposito didn't even hesitate for a second. He sprinted back to the precinct and jumped into the waiting car. The car ride seemed to take hours. Esposito slowly became more panicked. Every scenario ran through his mind. He could barely contain thoughts of Ryan and Castle dead, kidnapped, injured, flashing through his mind at the speed of light, trying to bring his heart rate to follow their rhythm. He was panicked. He was scared. And he didn't even want to imagine how panicked and scared Ryan was, if he was even able to be panicked and scared. Esposito didn't know which was worse.

Once they arrived, Esposito and Beckett shot out of the car, up the stairs, and into the room.

"Castle?" Beckett asked, worry coloring her tone.

"It's clear, he's gone." Castle replied.

"You okay?" Beckett asked.

"I'm fine. Ryan needs an ambulance." Espostio had been frantically searching the room with his eyes to find his partner, his heart skipping a beat when he heard what Castle said.

"No, I don't," was the feeble reply from the man lying crumpled on the floor. Esposito rushed over and knelt down, scanning his partner for any injuries.

"What the heck happened here?" Esposito asked. Castle replied, but Esposito didn't pay attention. The only thing he was paying attention to was the condition of his partner. Ryan had no badge, no gun, no phone, no wallet, and at that moment, very little pride. Ryan tried to sit up, but Esposito's firm hand pushed him back down.

"Not yet, bro. I want the EMTs to have a look at you first." Esposito kept Ryan lying down. Ryan sighed. Part of Esposito wanted to be relieved. At least he wasn't dead, right? But the rest of his brain wouldn't let him take an easy breath until the EMTs arrived and spoke to him.

"Well, he's got a grade 3 concussion, because he lost consciousness. I'm going to say that because he seems fully conscious and aware now, and because he has all of his memory. He can be released if, and only if, someone stays with him overnight to keep an eye on him."

"OK." Esposito reached for the forms.

"And no physical activity until you are cleared."

"Got it." Ryan replied. Esposito got out his phone and called for a Taxi. Ryan stood up, then swayed a bit. Esposito reached out to steady him.

"Careful there, bro. Is Jenny staying at your place now?" Esposito's voice was laced with concern.

"Yeah. But she said she's going to be getting home late tonight. Parent-Teacher conferences, and some of her kid's parents work really late." Ryan smiled a bit. Jenny worked as a teacher. Esposito walked Ryan to the road and into a waiting cab. He told the driver the address and off they went. When they reached Ryan's apartment, it was empty. Esposito sat Ryan down and walked into the kitchen. He poured himself and Ryan two glasses of water and walked back.

"You don't have to stay, you know. Jenny will be home soon." Ryan said.

"Yeah, actually, I do have to stay. You need constant supervision."

Ryan nodded carefully at that and they sat talking for 30 minutes about innocuous stuff. Esposito was careful to avoid any heavy conversations or talk about work. This wasn't the time.

They heard a key in the lock, and Jenny walked in.

"Hey, Kevin!" She said, a smile on her face. "Oh, hi, Javier. What are you doing here?" Jenny asked. Esposito stood up and motioned for them to move into the kitchen. He positioned himself so that he could talk to Jenny, but still have one eye on Ryan.

"What happened?" Jenny asked, her worry not masked at all.

"Someone got the drop on him. Listen, he's got a grade 3 concussion. Here's the instructions the EMTs gave us." Esposito handed Jenny the papers.

"Oh my God, is he ok?!" Jenny asked, freaking out now.

"He'll be fine, Jenny. He's just a little banged up. And his pride took a bit of a hit. The guy took his gun, badge, phone, and wallet."

"Oh, Ok." Jenny said, her nerves not calmed in the slightest. "Thanks. Yeah, I'll keep an eye on him." They walked back into the room. Esposito said goodbye. Then left his partner in his girlfriend's capable hands.


	3. Knockdown

**A.N. Here's KnockDown for you wonderful people! Umm...I really don't have anything else to say...Enjoy! Tomorrow (or whenever I next remember) will be from The Dead Pool._  
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**_Worry-Prologue_**

_Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship._

_It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked._

_But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other._

KnockDown

Esposito hated himself at that moment. He hated how he, a soldier and a cop, couldn't help the man in front of him. The splash of ice cold water came raining down on his soul again and again as Ryan's face hit the water. How could e let this happen? Why did this have to happen? When he had chosen option B, he had expected to be in pain. He had expected torture. But to use his partner against him? To tease and torment him with his partner's apparent agony? Esposito would give anything, anything at all, to switch places with his partner. But somehow, Lockwood had know that Ryan was the younger, the one who bruised easier, the one way to break them. If their roles were switched, Esposito would handle the water, and Ryan would-should- know that. But Esposito constantly questioned his partner's well being. Esposito watched as Ryan cracked a joke while barely being able to breath. He hated how Lockwood described Ryan's pain. When the Flashbang had gone off earlier that day and Ryan had tackled him to safety, screaming his name, Esposito's heart tore with guilt. What if it had been a real bomb? He would have lived, and Ryan would have died. He was supposed to have his partner's back! Esposito stared at the thrashing man in front of him. His barrier's cracked. He yelled for them to stop and then caught himself. No, he couldn't let himself ruin Beckett. In haste, he told a quick "Yo mama" Joke to try and stop himself. Ryan gave a small laugh. Esposito thought it sounded feeble. Then, in a calm voice, Lockwood ordered for his henchmen to blow one of Ryan's knees out. Esposito then shattered. He screamed out, no,no,no! and struggled with the leash around his neck harder than before. It bit him and shorted his breathing, but he couldn't let that happen to Ryan. Esposito flinched as the shots rang out. Suddenly, he realized that the shots weren't against his partner's knee cap, but against the men holding them. Esposito was jerked back as the man holding his leash was shot and fell. Esposito's head hit the ground, hard. The leash around his neck was tight. His hands were bound, so he couldn't fix his neck them them. He instead squirmed closer to his dead captor to stop the rope from pulling. A loud noise that wasn't a gunshot came from his right. He heard Beckett's voice asking Castle if he was ok. Castle replied yes. The two of them then moved over to where Ryan and Esposito lay. Before they reached them, Esposito told them to go and help Ryan first. Carefully, Esposito freed his hands. He'd been working on them all night. Once his hands were free, he untied the leash and crawled to Ryan.

"You ok, bro?" Ryan coughed out.

"Yeah, bro. You ok? Esposito replied in an equally rasp tone. EMTs arrived and both of them found themselves on the back of an ambulance. Ryan wore new dry clothes with a blanket around his shoulders. Esposito kept insisting he was fine, but the EMTs placed the blanket over his shoulder's anyway. Beckett walked over.

"Why have I got this blanket? They keep putting this blanket on me." Esposito complained.

"It's for shock." Beckett explained.

"I'm not in shock." Esposito frowned while Beckett smiled.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Esposito answered. Ryan looked up.

"Y-Y-Y-Yeah. I-I'm-m-m fine." Ryan shivered. Esposito wrapped his arm around the freezing Irish man for warmth.

"We got Lockwood. He's in custody. He's going away for a long, long time." Beckett told them. Esposito nodded.

"How's Castle?"

"Fine. More worried about you two." Kate paused. "Was the dunking the only thing he did?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah." Esposito replied. She nodded. Esposito was then cleared to take Ryan home. They got a taxi back to Ryan's place and Esposito led Ryan to his door. Jenny answered.

"Oh, God! What happened!" She ushered the partners into the living room. Esposito looked at Ryan, not wanting to tell Jenny something he shouldn't.

"I'll t-tell y-you in the morning-g." Ryan shivered. Jenny took hold of Ryan and guided him to the couch.

"I'll make you some honeymilk." Jenny smiled at Ryan, then motioned for Esposito to join her in the kitchen.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"I don't want to tell you anything Ryan wouldn't." Esposito smiled faintly, then left.

**R&R!**


	4. The Dead Pool

**A.N. Here's the next chapter! I'm hoping to have Knockout up sometime soon. After that, I'll post a chapter whenever I feel that it's appropriate. Enjoy!_  
><em>**

**_Worry-Prologue_**

_Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship._

_It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked._

_But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other._

Leprechaun Tossing

When Ryan walked into the room; his tie loosened, his face long and a tear in his jacket; Espostiot's instinct of worry kicked in. Before Esposito could inquire as to what the heck had happened or whether his partner was ok, Ryan started to talk.

"Well, she wasn't lying about her brothers. I talked to all four of them, one Irishman to another." Ryan began, as he tightened his tie. "And another. Anyway, they alibied out. They were in New Paultz when Zack was killed." Beckett started in before Esposito could interrupt.

"All of them?" She sounded shocked. Ryan just gave a grunt of confirmation in response. "For what?" Beckett asked. Ryan seemed hesitant to answer, but he did.

"They were at a sporting event." Ryan looked down at his feet and began to squirm away. "Of sorts." Ryan then turned to walk away. Beckett cut his short.

"Which was?" After Beckett's question, Ryan turned around.

"Leprechaun Tossing." Ryan answered Esposito started to ask, but Ryan cut him off. "Don't ask. Anyway, uh, the older brother, he apparently got first place." Ryan was examining a tear in his suit jacket. "Oh, man." Castle then interrupted to start the conversation again. Esposito would have to wait to talk to Ryan about what had happened. And anger and worry fester when let alone.

It was Madden night at Ryan's place when Esposito saw his chance. Jenny was out with girlfriends, so Ryan had the place all to ohimself. En between games, espostio breached the subject.

"So, what exactly is Leprechaun tossing? Espostio sked. Js ,ined was stained with anger and worry for his friend, while his tone was joking and playful. He didn't want Ryan to shut down. As it was, Ryan grew quiet and set down his game controller. He took a deep breath.

"Leprechaun Tossing is when Irishmen take a Leprechaun, the shortest usually, and sort of, uh,"Ryan grew very quiet. Esposito couldn't hear the end of the statement.

"They what?" Esposito asked, some of the worry and anger seeping into his voice.

"They toss him around!" Ryan said loudly. "I'm usually stuck as the leprechaun." Ryan suddenly became very interested in his shoes. Esposito was officially freaked out.

"So, what, they tossed you around?" Esposito probed, allowing a little more of his emotion into his voice.

"I'm fine, really." Ryan was immediately on the defensive. Esposito's brow furrowed. Ryan reached for the bowl of chips on the table. Once he reached a certain point on his right arm, he winced and switched arms.

"That doesn't look fine to me." Esposito called Ryan's bluff.

"It's not a big deal." Ryan finally, and wincing all the way, reached the bowl. He grabbed a few chips then relaxed back into the roadkill couch.

"Ryan." Esposito started, then changed his mind. "Kevin, if you had been pushed around a bit for being short, fine. But you are hurt. That automatically means that this goes from the 'I'm fine' category to the 'let's arrest these punks for assaulting a police officer' category."

"I'm just a little banged up, it's ok." Truth be told, Ryan was a little surprised when Esposito used his first name. That meant that this had really rattled his cage.

"Kev, come on. You can't get a couple of chips without hurting yourself. This is a problem." Esposito replied.

"It'll be fine by morning. Probably." Ryan replied. "Take it from someone with past experience."

"This has happened to you before?" All of Esposito's pent up emotion from the day exploded out.

"Woah, bro, chill. It's not a big deal. Isn't there something your family does that's maybe a little inappropriate?" Ryan tried to calm Esposito down. It wasn't working.

"Nothing that could hurt someone!"

"Relax, ok? If I'm still hurt tomorrow, I'll press charges. If not, then let's just forget about this, ok?" Ryan pleaded, giving Esposito a desperate look with his ice blue eyes. Esposito caved.

"Alright. Bur if you are even the least bit hurt, I'll go down and arrest those.."

"Relax. Enjoy the game."

So they did. Ryan ended up still feeling a bit ache-y the next day, but was under no circumstances going to tell Esposito that for fear of World War III.

**R&R!**


	5. Knockout

**A.N. I know...I have only one excuse...life. Sometimes, I think that I have so much life, that I forget to have a life. I have been so ridiculously busy for the past few months, it hasn't even been funny. I don't know where people find the time! I'm still working, so don't worry about that, and I should have Kick the Ballistics up relatively soon. I don't think any of the others this season warrant a chapter, though maybe Heartbreak Hotel or Killshot will prove me different. I don't actually know. But hey, you have one chapter to look forward to. Eventually. Sorry! :)**_  
><em>

_Worry-Prologue_

_Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship._

_It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked._

_But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other._

Knockout

The bartender passed an old photo from his cluttered board behind the bar to Esposito. Ryan's heart skipped a beat when he saw the familiar face of his mentor shining from the sides of two men he knew to be dirty. The final nail in the coffin fell in when the bartender snapped and said Montgomery's name. Esposito's face was flat, betraying no emotion.

"Montgomery said he didn't know either of these guys." Ryan said worriedly. Esposito's face scrunched up in anger as he tore the photograph to shreds and stalked out of the bar. When the bartender called after him, Ryan had to keep his head, quickly apologize, and rush after his partner.

Esposito was a soldier at heart. And in the battlefield, he had got used to the people he worked with being like a family to him. You did not keep secrets that could harm the others in that family. Especially ones as influential as this. To Esposito, it was unthinkable to do what Montgomery had done, to betray those closest to you so completely. And when you were the one being betrayed?

Ryan knew Esposito would be devastated by the Captain's deception. The truth was, Ryan was devastated too. But at that point in time, he knew that he could not let his emotions get the best of him. His partner needed him to stay sane, in the most insane of times. But Ryan couldn't keep the raw emotion out of his voice when he followed Esposito down that alley of trucks.

"Hey!" Ryan called out, praying that Esposito would turn around. Luckily, the Latino man did. "You know it's him. Montgomery's our third cop; he's the one that altered those records." Ryan cursed in his mind. He kept grasping at some sort of calm, to keep his emotion's down, to help Esposito. He could not let the intensely loyal man who was his partner do something that would get himself hurt. There was far more to think about than just what had happened that night. But Ryan's emotions had betrayed his distress to Esposito. The Latino took no comfort in the Irishman's words.

"How could you even say that? How could you even _think_ that! Montgomery brought us in on Homicide! What do we got, a _picture_!" Esposito raised his voice louder as he went on, his usually careful emotions running away from him, like a rabid dog running from its cage if the lock is left undone. Ryan then lost all thought of what was going on. His careful and controlled focus on worry for his partner flew out the window as the two lost their tempers completely after the traumatic events of the night.

"Think about it! Why else did he want us to take Lockwood out? Because Lockwood leads us to him! He's been lying to us. He's been lying to us the whole time." The Irishman exploded. Esposito fell into a shocked silence. Shaking his head rapidly, Esposito slowly turned to walk away. He knew where this was headed; he could see that he was going to lash out at any time, and he just couldn't do that to Ryan.

But then Ryan grabbed Esposito's shoulder and tried to turn him around.

And then Esposito lost it, whipping around to punch Ryan in the face. He then moved away, some sense of his normal brotherhood with Ryan still loosely intact within Esposito's crashing mind. But all that shattered when Ryan pushed Esposito back, and the Latino was back in Afghanistan, fighting for his life against an enemy. So when Ryan slammed him into the side of a truck, Esposito immediately swung himself around so Ryan was against the wall and Esposito had a hand on his face. The older man saw red and was lost for a few seconds until a cry from his younger partner brought him out of his trance. Esposito, disgusted with himself, yet still furious, ripped himself away from the smaller man's muscular frame and lent against the side of the truck. He only had a few moments while Ryan caught his breath, but a few moments was enough to feel the horror at what he had done. After everything that the two of them had been through, every time that Esposito's heart pounded out of his chest, praying that his partner would be ok, every time that he had thought that Ryan was hurt and that he could not handle that, Esposito had hurt him. Esposito, the self proclaimed protector of the smaller man, had swung his fist at Ryan's face and hit. The look of sheer terror and disgust on his face betrayed his distraught mind. But Ryan read it wrong. Once he could breathe again, the Irishman only said one thing.

"Beckett."

**Kick the Ballistics is up next! R&R!**


	6. Kick the Ballistics

__**A.N. Yeah, I have no excuse. I'm sorry this is so late. I really am. I shouldn't have waited this long to post, and I should have just written. I'll try and get the next one up soon, that will be Demons. After that I'm doing Cuffed and Til Death Do Us Part as full episodes. I might throw in some mini-episodes for some others, but that's if I have the time. Thank you for your patience. I'm so, so sorry.  
><strong>

_Worry-Prologue_

_Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship._

_It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked._

_But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other._

* * *

><p>Kick the Ballistics<p>

They always knew that this day would come. It was inevitable, unavoidable. But still, it was a day that Esposito had been dreading for a whole year. Ryan distracted himself from the thought, Esposito made sure of that, but the Latino kept the events of that night in his mind constantly. He could still remember the call, the car ride, then running up the stairs, then plowing into the room, then seeing his partner, the man he was supposed to protect, on the floor. He had nightmares still about finding the slim Irishman. He hadn't expected things to happen in this order. He had thought that that monster would have come back and killed again before his gun did. He had hoped that that gun would never come up again, that they would catch the guy before he could use it. The second Beckett said that the bullet was from Ryan's service weapon, Esposito knew that his prayers had gone unanswered. When Ryan walked out of the building, Esposito followed.

Fear was what drove him then, fear of what Ryan would become, fear of what Ryan would not be able to stop himself from doing. Esposito had never had his gun stolen before, but he knew what it would do to him. And he knew what it did to Ryan. Those few weeks after 3XK had been some of the longest of his life. He couldn't let Ryan go back there.

When he got outside, he saw Ryan pacing to the sound of Church bells in the distance. Esposito just stood there, staring, not saying a word. Ryan saw him and walked up. He then looked at the huge stone doorway to the precinct.

"She was holding a cross in her hand when she died. She was praying for mercy. And then…She heard him pull the trigger." Ryan turned to meet Esposito's gaze. "My gun."

The fire in those blue eyes scared Esposito beyond belief. He had forgotten how potent that gaze could be when it showed the flames burning the man inside. Esposito had to look away.

Back in precinct, Esposito couldn't help stealing glances into Gates's office as Ryan sat there, telling the story again like a naughty school kid sent to the principal's office. The fear still nibbled at Esposito's brain.

He tried not to let it show on his face, but sometimes it was difficult.

Beckett told him later about Ryan's words by the murder board with Castle. That didn't help.

He was the type of person who would be willing to take a bullet for Ryan, to protect him, and to beat up on anyone who tried to hurt him, but this… this didn't compute. He was worried that Ryan was going to do something stupid, and he had no way of stopping him. Ryan was better at that side of things. Usually, it was Ryan stopping Esposito from doing something stupid, but this time… Esposito wasn't thinking clearly. He needed to get out. Now.

The only thing he could do was read Ryan and his actions. If their roles were reversed, that meant that he knew exactly what was going on in Ryan's head. When Castle asked how Ryan was, Esposito could only explain it though his own experience. He was right. Ryan was just waiting for the next hit, for the next terrible thing to happen, until it was all over and he could analyze what just happened.

Ryan's temper with Seth Carver did not help to ease Esposito's fears.

It was a slap in Esposito's face when Ryan said that he was going to roll with Beckett. There were two explanations. Either Ryan wanted to go and talk to the Lee's because his temper was driving him there. Or he was avoiding Esposito. The Latino had a strong feeling that it was a combination of both. Ryan had been dodging out of conversations, doing anything to not have to talk to his partner. Maybe it was because he didn't trust him? Esposito dismissed the thought quickly, as it was too painful to entertain for longer than a few seconds. He settled on the idea that Ryan was afraid of a confrontation between the two of them. He knew it was going to have to happen soon, but neither knew when.

Esposito could tell when Ryan had just had enough. Esposito saw what was happening as soon as Ryan blew up at Gates, then calmly left.

"Hey." Esposito called out to the fleeing Irishman. Ryan turned around and saw him, but didn't stop walking. "Wherever you're going, I'm going with you."

"It's my fight." Ryan tried to brush him off. He didn't want Esposito to go down for his own sin. Losing his gun was his fault; Esposito didn't need to help him clean up the mess.

"And you don't want me getting involved. It's my case too." Esposito read Ryan's mind. Ryan turned around to say what was on his mind, that it may be Esposito's case too, but it was Ryan's gun. Esposito stopped him before he could say anything. "And you're my partner."

Ryan resolved that he might as well. He wouldn't really need backup here, so he had no way of getting Esposito off his back, and he remembered clearly the pain at being brushed off by his partner when Esposito was dealing with his own skeletons.

"I'm taking a run at Ben Lee." Esposito internally sighed. It was what he had expected. Of course, the idiot was going to make a silly mistake, do something that was stupid. But at least he had told him. Esposito couldn't help thinking of the time in that parking garage when Ryan had to guess at his motives. The two formulated a plan, and kept going. The Latino couldn't be totally happy with the plan, but at least it wasn't an uninformed spur of the moment flail for information.

Then it paid off, then it all came to a gunshot in a small, red room in Chinatown. And Ryan was saving Ben Lee's life. Then, suddenly, it was all fine. Esposito never told Ryan about Phillip Lee's possible deal. He didn't think he could handle it.

They didn't talk later. Ryan usually confronted Esposito about these things, and Esposito didn't know where to start. He was sure it was going to bite him in the butt later.

**R&R!**


	7. Demons

**A.N. Yeah, I'm not even going to bother making an excuse. I hope you enjoy! I'll be posting another chapter later tonight. That one is Cops & Robbers.**

**Disclaimer: If I did own Castle, I'd be on time. But I'm not. So I don't. Please don't sue me.**

Worry-Prologue

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.

* * *

><p>Demons<p>

Jenny and Ryan had been going strong for several years before Esposito finally got a girlfriend. Ryan had been glad when he figured out the secret "Esplanie" relationship, as Castle was so fond of calling it. He wanted Esposito to have someone. Ryan had commitments now, commitments to Jenny. He couldn't go and spend every evening at Esposito's house like he had before. When the Latino got a girlfriend, Ryan hoped he'd be a little less lonely.

Then it came time for the girlfriends to meet. They'd spoken before, of course, when Ryan first introduced Jenny to the team, but Lanie wasn't Esposito's girlfriend then. They wanted the girls to get along, to like each other. It would make things far easier in the long run, especially with Ryan and Jenny getting married soon.

So, they set the date, made the reservations, and got everything set up. The only thing that worried Ryan was when Esposito said don't mention anything controversial. The split second he had to process that left him stunned and concerned. Maybe things weren't all sunshine and daisies in the land of Esplanie. Ryan wanted Esposito to have a girlfriend, sure, but not one that caused the man undue stress. Their job was hard enough, but to add relationship issues? Plus, even though Ryan was a fully trained officer of the law, he was still a little afraid of the Autopsy queen.

* * *

><p>At the dinner, things couldn't have been going better. Jenny and Lanie were getting along perfectly, swapping stories at the detectives' expense. Then, the innocent side of Jenny kicked in. For some people, such as Jenny, it was a logical progression: Meet, date, marry, family, die. In that order. Jenny knew that the couple had been dating for about a year. Logic stated that marriage would be coming up relatively soon. She had no way of knowing that Esposito and Lanie weren't on the same page marriage wise. Ryan hadn't even known. When he saw the look on Lanie's face, it sunk in. This is what Esposito meant by controversial. Why hadn't Esposito told him? Didn't he trust him enough? When Jenny and him had fought, he had mentioned it, Espo had said she'd come around or called him an idiot. Why didn't Esposito think that went both ways?<p>

* * *

><p>"Look, I said I'm sorry, ok? I didn't mean to jinx the dinner."<p>

"This really is the perfect night." Esposito mocked his partner's girlfriend.

"Jenny got a little caught up in the moment."

"When are you two getting married?" Esposito continued. "That's a question you do not ask!" The Latino was getting more frustrated by the second. Ryan sighed. He was used to having to calm his partner down, and he genuinely felt bad about what had happened. He was worried that there was trouble in paradise and should have warned Jenny. Simple as that. He knew both Lanie and Esposito were more "free-spirited" in their love life. He should have known marriage was a hot topic. At Ryan's obvious discomfort, Esposito tried to calm himself down.

"Alright, you know what, it's not entirely you guy's fault." He conceded. Ryan looked at his partner with concern.

"You guys have a big fight after?"

"Big fight? No. Mega fight, yes." Esposito's anger was still potent. Ryan nodded in understanding. "The point is we, um, we decided we're going cool things off." Ryan turned back to Esposito in concern.

"What, you mean split up?"

"Yeah. Just until we both figure out what we want." A fresh wave of guilt fell over Ryan as he saw the look on Esposito's face.

"Man, I'm so sorry."

"Anyway." Esposito rolled his eyes. Ryan ignored his partner's attempts to brush him off.

"Look, brother, if you need me for anything you know I'm always here. What?" He looked up to see Esposito going for the light dangling from the ceiling. They were back in case mode. Ryan stored up his concern for later. It was no use talking about this again now. But Ryan was sure to bring it up later. He just wasn't sure when he'd get the chance. Esposito was sure to brush him off again when he next tried to talk, and it certainly wasn't something Ryan wanted to discuss. But Ryan knew that he'd have to bring it up sometime. Besides, Espo'd just have to deal with them talking. Ryan was only worried.


	8. Cops and Robbers

**A.N. Well, it was better than last time. Hope you enjoy! And, yes, I will be getting to later episodes soon. I'll have a list of the chapters that I'm going to post on my author page. So, don't worry. Leave that to the boys.**

**Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own, please don't sue**

* * *

><p>Worry-Prologue<p>

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.

* * *

><p>Cops &amp; Robbers<p>

There is something sacred about signing up for the force, about carrying that badge. There's a brotherhood that can't be broken, shouldn't be broken. Both Ryan and Esposito understood that even though Castle didn't carry that badge, he was still a part of that brotherhood, at least to them. And that's why their hearts started to race the moment that Beckett told them where Castle was, in that 10-30. There wasn't time for worry. They had work to do.

Esposito kept his mouth shut. He didn't like actively hiding things from Ryan, but in this case…some things are better left unsaid. He knew Castle's chances. He knew and he hated them. At this point, the only thing he could do was wait and keep Ryan's hopes up. When Beckett asked, he couldn't lie, but he wasn't going to volunteer the information. There was still a slim chance, right? He wasn't going to let Ryan have to deal with that same fear.

Finally he had something productive to do. He worked well under stress, he knew it. So when Beckett texted him to take Ryan and go find Agnes and Gideon Fields, he was relieved. He was still worried out of his mind. What did this have to do with anything? When they called Beckett for the first time, Esposito decided to test out Ryan, to see if he was ok. He threw a little insult his way, to have Ryan turn another small one back on him. Good. The younger man was handling this ok. Esposito felt his worry dip slightly.

And then the second call went dead. They heard an explosion and it went dead. Esposito's heart stopped. He looked over at Ryan for something, anything, to prove that he wasn't hearing things. Ryan's face was stuck in shock. The two of them nearly ran to the car, drove with the gumball blaring, racing to the bank to with some small amount of hope that there had merely been a problem with the cellphone. They were wrong. They sprinted out of the car to see the hostages walking out, safe and sound. There were men, women, then there was Martha, then finally Castle and Beckett. They watched as Castle and Martha went over to greet Alexis, and Beckett walked over to them. The first question out of Esposito's mouth was to check on the people. He was lucky. They were all alright. Then it was time to get down to business. They had to figure out what on earth had just happened, and fast. At least Castle was alive.

Esposito had been chomping at the bit all day to talk to Ryan. And when they found out that Connor and Tanya were alive and ok, Esposito jumped at the chance to pick them up. 4 hours, alone with Ryan. That was plenty of time to talk.

Funnily enough, once they got to the car, it was Ryan who started the conversation.

"Jenny's going to kill me."

"What?"

"It's just… I told her that today was going to be a light day, easy, just paperwork, but that obviously isn't the truth. Plus, I haven't called her yet to explain why I'm late. She'll be livid."

"Well, then call her bro. You've got four hours, What's stopping you from picking up the phone?"

"Fair point." Ryan reached into his pocket and whipped out his cell. Quickly, he hit number 2 on the speed dial and waited. Jenny picked up after the first ring.

"Kevin?"

"Hey Jenny."

"Where the hell are you?! You said you'd be home hours ago and I've tried calling, but it just went to voicemail and I didn't know…"

"Jenny, please."

"Please what, Kev? Please stop? I've been worried sick about you. I thought you said that today was just going to be paperwork?"

"It was. But things didn't go as planned."

"What happened?"

"Castle was at the bank with his mother and the bank was robbed." Ryan could hear the gasp over the phone. "It's ok, we got him and everyone else out ok, but it was all a set up."

"What?"

"Some guy staged the robbery so that he could get at a safety deposit box that his wife was keeping. She'd ran away from him and faked her own death because he was abusing her. So she took her son and ran, but set up a safe deposit so she could keep in touch with her mother. Her husband used the robbery to find out where she was, but don't worry. Ithaca police managed to get him." Ryan had learned a long time ago that trying to keep what was going on in the case from Jenny only ended badly. Once, during the kidnapping case, he'd tried to keep what was going on from her, just so she wouldn't worry, but in the end, he just managed to freak her out more. She liked to know how things ended, to wrap things up in a pretty bow so they made sense to her. It was one of the greatest things about her. She'd hear his stories, take up her paintbrush, and paint the plot to its finish. She'd show them to her students each year for a storytelling assignment. The year before, she'd even asked Kevin to come into her class and tell a story so they could paint it. Not his usual macabre tales he told her, but something lighter. Jenny always said that he had a knack for storytelling. Her reply brought him back from his reminiscing.

"Ithaca?!" Oops. He'd forgotten to tell her that's where he was headed.

"Yeah…Javi decided to volunteer the two of us to pick them up. I don't think I'll be home until tomorrow night." Ryan braced himself for the inevitable anger.

"Oh." There was a pause. "Ok."

"You're not mad?" Ryan was confused. He hadn't expected his wife to be so understanding. Sure, she understood his job and what it meant to him and what he had to do, but surely an unexpected night away would be too much. Right?

"No, of course not. I get it. Tell Javi I say hi, alright?"

"Alright. Oh, and, Jenny?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I know, Kev. I love you too."

The line went dead, and Ryan closed his phone.

"You good?" Javi asked.

"I think. Women are…confusing."

"You got that right. I don't know how you do it, man. You've been with Jenny for, what, almost four years now? That's crazy."

"Yeah, I guess. But, hey, you and Lanie lasted a while, right?" Right away, Ryan could see he'd made a tactical error. Esposito's grip on the wheel grew tighter.

"Yeah. A bit." The Latino's voice was tight. Ryan shot him a worried glance, but decided to take the risk.

"You want to talk about it?"

Javier paused.

"Not really." Kevin nodded, turning to look out the window. "I don't blame you, you know." Kevin turned to look at Javier.

"What?"

"I don't blame you. What happened between me and Lanie. That was going to happen anyway. Things had been a little…"

"Tense?"

"Yeah." Javier sighed. "I just want you to know that I don't blame you."

"Yeah. I know."


	9. Cuffed

**A.N. Hello, All! Exciting News, I now have a Beta Reader, AgentFraniJones. She is fantastic and is helping me so much. Hopefully, my writing improves and I'm better at getting chapters up on time. It's easier to update when you feel you're accountable to someone.  
><strong>

**Please let me know what you guys think of the chapter. Your opinions mean a lot to me. Hopefully, I'll update soon. I'll also be going back and fixing some problems with previous chapters.**

**Also, I've been wondering whether it would be worth it to post this story on Archive of our own. I've read a lot on that site, but never posted. They've got some quality work there, but I'm not sure whether my work should be on there. Please let me know what your opinion is. Thank you for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I know these are annoying to post and read, but I don't own Castle and this is purely fan based work. **

* * *

><p>Worry-Prologue<p>

Whenever they make a bust, or get into trouble, Ryan and Esposito don't take a good breath until the danger is over. It's not because they worry about someone shooting them. No, that would mean they didn't have the right kind of crazy in them to work as a police officer. They worry for each other. Ryan's always scared that Esposito's assault rifle is going to fail one of these days. Esposito worries that yet another dirt bag will think Ryan the weaker of the two and target him. But no matter the consequence, they protect each other. And worry about each other constantly. It was natural, when two friends are in the line of fire as often as they are. It was rare that they didn't end up in a sticky situation. The two men worked together in one of the most dangerous jobs that people could take. They were brothers in arms, in a friendship forged in bullets. They weren't about to let the other man take one without trying to stop the dirt bag with a gun. Worry was a connection that locked their friendship.

It usually ended up being Esposito worrying about Ryan. Ryan had a knack for getting himself into trouble, so Esposito had a built-in Ryan-is-about-to-get-himself-killed radar. It had come in handy on more than one occasion. On others, in almost made his head explode. Esposito tried his best to keep Ryan safe, but sometimes safety isn't an option. Ryan usually worried about Esposito, but rarely had to consider any real threat to the Latino. Esposito was good at keeping himself out of trouble, a skill that Ryan lacked.

But no matter what, they had each other's backs and that was the most important thing on their job. If your partner didn't have your back, then you would not last very long. It took two to be able to do their job to the fullest and if the other half of your team was against you, there would be no team very quickly. Ryan and Esposito's worry for each other made them the strongest team of cops that most criminals would see. They would fight together, stick together, and do anything for each other. The two brothers were going to stick it out to the bitter end, so they could keep worrying about each other.

* * *

><p>Cuffed<p>

Being a cop is tough. There are days when you don't know if you're coming home, and there are days you pray to whoever is listening that you still have a home to come to. It's like tearing down the walls of a cell only to find a new, even bigger cell you've got to tear down and the bricks won't stop coming. Sometimes, you get a friend, a partner, to rip at the wall with you. If you're lucky you get a whole team, working together to bring the walls down. And it stings, no, it burns, when that team is taken. The moment that Ryan and Esposito knew that Beckett and Castle had been taken from them, the burn started. It started and it flamed up when they picked up clues. Each new piece of information was a piece of kindling, keeping the fire going. Every time they made a move, the sparks flew up again.

Sometimes, fires can be good. They keep you warm, they give you light. Both of the boys would be lying if they said they didn't remember building campfires when they were younger. But fires can also destroy. A fire in the heart can burn away at you. It can burn your brain so much that all that remains is worry. In the ride from place to place, searching frantically for Castle and Beckett, the fire was slowly eating at the boys. This was the second time in four years that members of that team, that family, had gone missing. Each in their own minds gave a silent thanks that it was not them for a second time. Then, they each remembered what capture had been like for them. Esposito pressed harder into the gas. They had no idea whether where they were headed was the right place or, even if it was right, whether Castle and Beckett had managed to hold on this long. Ryan looked over at his partner.

"Do you think they're okay?"

Esposito stayed focused on the road ahead of him, not allowing himself to react further than a terse reply.

"I don't know, bro."

They were both silent after that. By the time they made it to the fourth property they were set to search, the tension was palpable, both worrying what each lost minute was costing them in the long run.

"817 Finshel Drive. Industrial building foreclosed on 8 months ago."

"Looks empty, just like the last three places."

"Let's do a walk-around, see if there's anything in the back."

"Yeah."

The two continued a terse silence, until Ryan saw a window. Wiping it clean, he spotted a truck inside, a truck that could mean that this was the place they were looking for. Relief and fear pushed through his body. They had found where they were being held, but actually being there brought home all of the potential consequences of a rescue. This could become a hostage situation, one that Castle didn't need to be in so soon after the bank. They could already be dead. The captors could go after Esposito… right, Esposito. He figured that he should probably call him over.

"Esposito, over here." This, more than anything else, showed the Latino how worried his partner was. Ryan never called him Esposito unless it was very specific circumstances. This was not that. Espo jogged over to see the truck. The same jolt ran through his veins.

"Call for backup."

The two turned around, walking back to the car. It was stupid to try and go after whoever was there without backup, the two could be killed, and besides, if this did turn into a hostage situation, neither of them was trained to deal with it. Sure, they could talk down a man with a gun, but full blown was never part of the deal. As they were leaving, Ryan heard a faint yell coming from behind them.

"Wait, Listen. Do you hear that?" He had stopped and turned toward the noise. Espo wasted no time.

"Yeah." He stepped in front of Ryan, his gun up, searching for the origin of the screams, silently praying that they weren't what he thought they were. He didn't know whether to hope they were from Castle and Beckett or that they weren't. Moving as fast as is safe with a gun pointed out, the two pushed through the ominous compound until they found the source: A door in the ground. Esposito prayed it open. A wave of relief coursed through him as he realized that they were alive. The happiness that he had begun to feel then suddenly dropped as he saw the giant cat pawing at the side of their metal stand. Confusion and shock replaced his previous feelings. Unsure as to handle a tiger situation, and a little embarrassed at how squeaky his voice had gone, Esposito's mind went into overdrive.

Then, he heard the snap of a shotgun, and suddenly, everything became clearer. His gun was already pointed at the old women aiming straight for his partner. Ryan was right beside him.

"Drop the hardware, boys, or I'll blow you both away."

She was calm. Very calm. She had a purpose to her actions, she wasn't going to be talked down easily. Ryan's jaw was tight. Later, he would wonder why he didn't think about losing Jenny, or losing Javi, or losing his life, or Castle, or Beckett, or any other stupid dying man's regrets, because it didn't look like this would be an easy fix. But his mind was empty, cursed with the blessing of focus. All he could think about was that woman with her gun pointed at him and his brother. He could barely hear the screams for help from the hatch beside them.

Then something snapped. The initial shock of the gun was gone, and all that was left was a calm fury, a knowledge that they were highly trained officers of the law, and by God, he wasn't going to let himself or his partner get shot.

"Put your weapon down!"

"Doesn't matter which one of us you shoot first. Whoever is left standing will kill you."

And there it was. The essential fact of the two of them. The two men lived their lives on the line, risked everything to find justice and help others, all with the knowledge that if something happened to them, no matter what, their brother had their back.

"Maybe I'll shoot the pretty one first."

That caught them off guard. Neither knew whether that threat was against them, or their brother.

"Luckily, I don't gotta choose."

A man, hefty with a beer gut and a buzz cut stepped out from behind a barrel, gun pointed straight at Ryan.

"Y'all put 'em down."

Ryan had already turned to face him.

"You first."

"Let's just kill 'em, Ma." Another man, scrawnier but still armed, and aimed at Ryan, appeared on a metal walkway above them. Ryan adjusted his aim. They were outnumbered. This was turning ugly. "Let Tony the Tiger have at the others like we planned."

Esposito was livid. He kept his cool, you had to in situations like this, but he was seething. Three against two?

"Your boys shoot, I swear the last thing I do is put a bullet through your head. Your choice." He threatened. Sometimes, when someone has a gun on you, you plead, you reason. You tell them that they don't want to go to jail for killing a cop, they don't want that to be their life. Other times, you threatened. Being a cop is not a shield to these people. It's a sword. Sometimes, you've got to let them know that the sword will come down on them if they don't do what you want.

"You New Yorkers ain't nearly as scary as a Texas lawman. That being said, I'm bettin' more of you are gonna be here soon. So I'm gonna tell you what's gonna happen. Me and my boys are gonna back on out of here. You either get yourselves killed trying to stop us, or you can forget all about us and go save your friends. That's your choice."

The gunmen started moving. Ryan could feel the anger rolling off Esposito in waves. He knew that his partner wanted to go after them, but he couldn't, the woman was right. If they did, and it was definitely they, Ryan wouldn't abandon him, they would be killed. And Castle and Beckett would die. It would be bloodshed for no purpose but anger. That was no way to die.

"Javi." Ryan said, hoping that his partner would take the lead like he had many times before and make the impossible decision

They heard a loud scream come from the hatch. Ryan wanted to turn and see what had happened, but there was still a chance, a very good chance that the gunmen would shoot if his gun went off them.

Then Esposito made up his mind.

"Let 'em go." He put down his gun and ran to the hatch. Ryan, still nervous, pointed his gun back at the exiting gunmen before turning to help his friend.


End file.
